If this would have been a 36-minute game, LIU would right now be looking at a 7-1 record. But college hoops is still a 40-minute game and the last four minutes for LIU spelled their demise as the Blackbirds fell at Incarnate Word Saturday afternoon, 90-79, and thus snapping their three-game win streak.

LIU lead for most of the first 36 minutes but the lead never got above eight and it never got above six in the second half as the two teams played a rather close and entertaining game.

After LIU took a two-point lead after a pair of Nura Zanna free throws with 4:47 remaining, the Cardinals would end the game outscoring the Blackbirds 22-8 and used a 17-4 run in a span of 3:09 to turn a close game into a bit of a laugher. [Read more…]

A game that only be best described as the epitome of a tell of two halves game, LIU Brooklyn did just enough in the second half to hold on to win at Hartford Wednesday night, 75-68, after leading by 22 points at halftime.

LIU Brooklyn used probably one of their best halves of the season in the first half, taking advantage of opportunities given to them by the porous Hartford defense. LIU shot 53 precent from the floor in half number one and made seven of eleven three-pointers while holding the Hawks to just 26 percent shooting to build as high as a 23-point lead before taking a 22-point lead into the locker room at the break. [Read more…]

In a game that featured eight ties and eleven lead changes, it was LIU Brooklyn who was able to prevail in overtime as the Blackbirds defeated UMass Lowell, 82-78, and with the victory, start the season 5-1 which is their best six-game start to the season since starting 5-1 back in the 1982-83 season.

LIU Brooklyn really got their bigs involved especially in the second half and into overtime, getting huge games from their starting front court of Nura Zanna and Jerome Frink.

Zanna got his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds on 6 of 9 shooting. Frink played his best game since the season opener and put the team on his broad shoulders. He finished with a season-high 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds, just missing out on his third double-double of the season. Frink went 11 of 18 from the field including draining a pair of three-pointers. [Read more…]

The LIU Brooklyn men’s basketball team on Monday afternoon completed the three games in three days Steve Wright Classic event up at Boston University and for the Blackbirds, it was a rather successful trip as they went 2-1.

On Saturday, LIU defeated Northeastern, 78-74, as the Blackbirds came back from a 12-point second half deficit. They were led by freshman guard Jashaun Agosto who scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half. Fellow freshman point guard Julian Batts scored a season-high 13 points and Jerome Frink (11 pts, 10 rebs) and Nura Zanna (10 pts, 10 rebs) both finished with double-doubles. The win gave LIU a 3-0 start which was the first time since the 1982-83, 1983-84 seasons in which the Blackbirds started out 3-0 in back-to-back seasons. [Read more…]

LIU Brooklyn were looking to do something that the program hasn’t done in over 30 years. That was start their season 2-0 in back-to-back seasons and in order to do that they were going to have to do it without the services one of their leaders, senior guard Joel Hernandez.

Behind the stellar performances of Iverson Fleming, Jerome Frink and Jashaun Agosto, LIU was able to break their 30-plus year drought with a thrilling although foul-filled 65-61 win over Loyola (Md.) Wednesday night at the Barclays Center. [Read more…]

LIU Brooklyn opened their season with a dominating win over Division III John Jay. (Photo: Bob Dea – BHJ)

The game pretty much went as expected for the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds in the season opener Friday night at the Steinberg Wellness Center as they took on Division III John Jay College from Manhattan.

After John Jay scored the opening two points of the game, the Blackbirds followed with a 15-0 run and from then on were on their way to a easy 78-40 victory to start their season 1-0.

But what should have been a postgame full of laughs and smiles after a 38-point win was nothing but.

That is because with 4:43 remaining in the game and LIU up by 38 points, senior guard Joel Hernandez suffered a dislocated thumb in his right hand and was in tremendous pain and in tears as the LIU trainers gathered around him, trying to and eventually popping his thumb back into place after several agonizing minutes. [Read more…]

LIU Brooklyn sees their season end in defeat as Wagner get over the hump and into their first NEC final since 2002. (Photo: Bob Dea – BHJ)

LIU Brooklyn knew they were not in for an easy task going into the Spiro Sports Center Saturday afternoon. Facing the number one-seeded Wagner Seahawks, the team LIU had beaten twice during the regular season and looking for a third win in the same season and a second win out in Staten Island, the Blackbirds were looking for their second straight upset in the NEC Tournament. But a terrible second half in which LIU were outscored by twenty, erased a four-point LIU halftime lead and eliminated LIU Brooklyn from going after their sixth NEC tournament championship with a 81-65 defeat to Wagner and ending their season. [Read more…]